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Friday, March 12, 2010
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony headline the Fader Fort
Well, that’s … unexpected.
Hat tip to our friends at the Austinist for noting that the Levi’s Fader Fort — for which RSVPs are now closed — has announced everything but its Wednesday headliner, and the Saturday night headliner is indeed Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, of “Tha Crossroads” fame. Noise pop duo Sleigh Bells will open for the seminal hip-hop group.
Midnight Masses will headline Friday and (Expletive Up) gets Thursday night.
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SXSW prompts downtown street closures
News release from the City of Austin:
The South by Southwest music events that begin Wednesday, March 17, will be accompanied by road closures in the downtown area, centered around the Sixth Street entertainment district.
The City of Austin has worked with SXSW officials throughout the year to achieve a balance between traffic lane closures for events with mobility and access to downtown destinations.
In addition to the street closures, a number of private parties and events in the downtown core and just east of I-35 may create additional traffic delays.
Creating the balance between traffic mobility and event success is important to the City of Austin. Austin enjoyed an economic boost of approximately $100 million from the 175,000 SXSW participants in 2009, according to the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau.
With the large festival turnout and fewer streets on which to park, anyone heading to Downtown Austin should share rides; bike; or use public transit if at all possible. Capital Metro will run six Night Owl routes that travel until 3 a.m. For more information about the Night Owl and other downtown routes visit www.capmetro.org.
Street closures
East Sixth Street will be closed 10 a.m. March 17 until 3 a.m. March 21, but will be open for drivers during peak morning commuting hours (6 to 10 a.m.) on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the music festival. Commercial deliveries can be made on Sixth Street and Red River Street from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Drivers on Fifth and Seventh streets will have slightly reduced access due to a single lane of closure on those streets. Eighth, Ninth, 10th and Brazos streets stay open continuously during the SXSW event.
East of I-35, East Fifth Street between Waller and San Marcos streets will be reduced to westbound traffic only from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and noon -11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
These closed lanes can be used by businesses and bands to load and unload. Any bagged meters in the downtown area can be used for loading and unloading, but unattended vehicles will be towed.
SXSW is also sponsoring free live concerts at Auditorium Shores March 18, 19 and 20. Drivers in the area can expect traffic delays.
Major street closures March 17-21 include:
East Sixth Street, 200 -700 blocks: Closed 10 a.m. March 17 until 3 a.m. March 21, except for weekday morning rush hour.
North-south routes that cross Sixth Street: 500-600 blocks of San Jacinto Boulevard and Trinity, Neches, Red River and Sabine Streets: Closed 5 a.m. March 17 until 4 a.m. March 21.
Red River Street, between intersections, from 500 through 1000 blocks: Closed 5 a.m. March 17 until 4 a.m. March 21
Waller Street, from East Fourth Street to East Fifth Street: Closed 5 a.m. March 17 until 4 a.m. March 21
For the concerts at Auditorium Shores on March 18, 19 and 20, the westbound right hand traffic lane of 600 through 800 blocks of West Riverside Drive: Closed 6 p.m. until midnight March 18 and 19; 6 p.m. until midnight March 20.
Complete list of SXSW street closures
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Buzzgrinder and Buddyhead parties announced
Buzzgrinder and Buddyhead Present BGBH at Annie’s West (706 W. 6th St.) Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19.
THURSDAY, MARCH 18
Patio Stage
11:00 | Apteka
12:00 | Entrance Band
1:00 | Slang Chickens
2:00 | Mini Mansions
3:00 | Dios
4:00 | Royal Bangs
Indoor Stage
12:30 | Quest for Fire
1:30 | Nebula
2:30 | Wax Fang
3:30 | Ha Ha Tonka
4:30 | Look Mexico
FRIDAY MARCH 19
Patio Stage
11:00 | Vandaveer
12:00 | Lazer Crust
1:00 | Jack Ladder
2:00 | These United States
3:00 | Sweet Apple
4:00 | Drink Up Buttercup
Indoor Stage
11:30 | The Pack A.D.
12:30 | Title Tracks
1:30 | Jaguar Love
2:30 | The Seedy Seeds
3:30 | Henry Clay People
4:30 | Icarus Line
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SXSW preview: Sixteen Deluxe
Sixteen Deluxe - one of Austin’s most prominent noise-pop bands from the ’90s - have reformed after a decade-long hiatus wherein their particular sub-genre of rock ‘n’ roll has not-so ironically come into vogue.
Today, Sixteen Deluxe will commemorate their own “Sweet Sixteen” birthday at the Mohawk with the band’s first performance in years, kicking off the first of five reunion shows during South by Southwest (including an official showcase on Wednesday night and a few free parties).
At a recent rehearsal at the Music Lab on St. Elmo Street, the band sounded even more psychedelically blissful than they did at the peak of their late-’90s powers.
Bassist Jeff Copas and drummer Steven Hall solidified low-end grooves with backbeats and algebraic rhythms while vocalist/guitarist Chris “Frenchie” Smith and vocalist/guitarist Carrie Clark manipulated their effects pedals, altering harmony and aural spectral density like Impressionist painters blending colors.
The series of reunion shows was possible because of a perfect storm of fan demand, schedule juggling and the precarious mending of the band members’ interpersonal relationships.
“I started thinking about (a reunion) when Jeff and Steven made this amazing MySpace page,” Smith said. “Then I thought: Is (the MySpace page) an amazing cemetery of what we used to be, or are we trying to bait interest in our band … ’cause I’m in the business of pleasing the people.”
Shortly after the page went up in 2006, invitations for the band to reunite started sprinkling in from around the country. Austinite and longtime fan Aasim Syed finally persuaded the band to play his annual birthday party in 2009, although each member’s busy schedules would take more than a year to coordinate (Smith is a working producer and Clark recently married).
“The weird part was we didn’t all say no (to the idea of a reunion),” Clark said with a hint of sarcasm. “Initially, even before it was being scheduled around SXSW, we said, ‘If we’re going to get together, it better be for something good.’ ”
“If we’re gonna play, we need to donate the proceeds to something that matters to us … like the SIMS Foundation,” Hall said.
Smith chimed in, speaking with the same passion that he uses to shred guitars: “In many ways, Austin was fantastic to us. And if this is one gesture we can do collectively to give something back to Austin — to do a benefit for the SIMS Foundation — that is not something we take lightly.”
Like many things surrounding the Sixteen Deluxe discography and mythology, the synergy appeared perfect.
“SIMS Foundation provides a much-needed service that’s a hot topic right now with the whole health care debate,” Clark said. “Austin prides itself on having a lot of musicians and lots of artists … and musicians and artists generally don’t have good health care.”
Sixteen Deluxe were quick to deflect questions about their future, even though bands like Silversun Pickups and Beach House are bringing elements of the noise-pop/space-rock genre into the mainstream.
“Our music has a lot of static in it and that may be a sign of the times,” Smith said, reflecting both the band’s uncertain future and the uncertain economic future of the United States.
“We’ll see,” Clark said. “We’ll see, we’ll see, we’ll see.
“Grittier times call for grittier music. It might not be a very fun time to be around right now if you’re 20 years old and looking for a job. But there are probably going to be a lot of really good bands that come out of all this.”
Sixteen Deluxe reunion shows
Saturday, March 13: 9 p.m., the Mohawk, 912 Red River St. $8 advance, $10 at the door (www.transmission entertainment.com)
Wednesday, March 17 (official SXSW showcase): 1 a.m., Encore, 611 Red River St.
Thursday, March 18: Roky Erickson’s Psychedelic Ice Cream Social, Threadgill’s South, 301 W. Riverside Drive. $10. www.threadgills.com
Friday, March 19: 5 p.m. AasimFest ’10! The Independent at 501 Studios, 501 Interstate 35
Saturday, March 20: 4:30 p.m.: NY Night Train Fifth Annual SXSW Hoodang, US Art Authority at Spider House, 2908 Fruth St.
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Campise Memorial Sunday at Riverbend
A memorial service for Austin jazz titan Tony Campise, who passed away March 7 from brain injuries, will be held Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Riverbend Church (4214 Capitol of Texas Hwy N)
A reception will immediately follow on the Plaza at Riverbend. All are welcome.
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RSVP open for Perez Hilton’s SXSW bash
No word on the lineup yet, but the RSVP is now open for the annual SXSW party from Hollywood gossipmeister Perez Hilton. The event goes down Saturday, March 20, with doors open at 7:30 p.m. and performances starting at 8:30, at the former home of the Whitley Printing Company, 301 Brazos St. That’s just a couple of blocks from the Austin Convention Center.
Last year featured a pretty stellar lineup, including a guest appearance from Kanye West, so expect some big names this time out, too. Speculate away.
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SXSW2010: 10 questions for Washed Out
Like Neon Indian, Ernest Greene, aka Washed Out, combines synthesizers, ’80s dance samples, a lo-fi sensibility and his own original songs to create a sound that is both old and new. Washed Out will perform several times during the festival, including the Mexican Summer/Gorilla vs Bear showcase at Klub Krucial and the Pitchfork day party, both on Friday, March 19. Below, Greene answers questions about the writing process, performing live and releasing cassettes.
How would you describe your music to people who haven’t heard it?
Low fidelity ’80s pop meets ’90s shoegaze (?)
In general, your sound has a lot in common with other groups gaining in popularity right now, including Toro y Moi and Neon Indian. What is it about this style that is so appealing to music fans right now?
I think people enjoy the simplicity of the songs and probably the sincerity. The goal with the melodies is to touch on an emotion and sort of tap in to the feelings that accompany it.
Can you share a little on how you go about writing your songs?
I generally start with a simple bass line/drum beat and build the song from there. For me, it is all about coming up with layers that work best for the song. In most cases, that means keeping things really simple. The melodies sort of surface as this process moves along—after hearing the same loop over and over again.
There is a very visual element to your web site, and you released a book of photos. What role does that play in your music?
The connection has become more and more evident recently. I’ve only been taking photos for about a year, and I’ve realized that I’m basically going for the same feeling with both. It might be a little more subtle with the music, but the portraits are more about capturing the feeling of a situation than really documenting what is actually happening.
You were previously going by your real name; why did you switch to Washed Out?
I think the moniker works better…a little more mysterious…I think for the first couple of months or so after my music started taking off, people weren’t sure if Washed Out was a band or what…
Some people actually thought that I was a middle-aged dad, which is pretty funny.
Is there a particular genre of music that you were most influenced by growing up?
Probably hip-hop stuff like DJ Shadow and Four Tet. I started to listening to them in late high school/early college and it definitely changed my perspective of songwriting. I feel like that stuff definitely informs everything I’m doing today.
You put out a cassette-only release last year. What made you decide to do that?
A few different reasons. One is that the artwork and “look” of a cassette works so great. The other is that it’s pretty great to be able to control every step of the production—like designing the art, printing the labels, dubbing the cassettes—it makes for a much more personal experience. The only way to get one is through me or my website, so its a pretty simple process, and I think people really enjoy that.
You said in an interview last year that you didn’t have plans to tour. Why did you change your mind?
I never really played in bands growing up…so I was a little scared of the idea of performing/dealing with huge sound systems. It’s a pretty big jump from making lo-fi music on your computer to playing to fairly large crowds through a state of the art sound system…
I also didn’t want the performance to take away from the records at all - it’s hard to build and maintain energy as a solo performer - I’m still figuring out how to do it :0
Have you been to SXSW before? What do you hope to accomplish while here?
I have, but not as a performer. I’m excited…but it’s going to be a busy week…
Hopefully, I’ll be able to find a nice balance between working and having fun/seeing other bands…
We’ll see…
What new music have you been listening to lately?
That Pantha Du Prince/Panda Bear song has been a big jam in our van…
This guy Moss of Aura opened up for us last night in Baltimore - and I really dug his stuff…really relaxed instrumentals…
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